Nabiki's Thoughts
by Innortal
Summary: A new take on A Past Catching Up. The what if Nabiki met Ranma earlier take, and didn't hate him for it.
1. Separation

**Ranma ½**

**Chapter 1**

**Separation**

Disclaimer: I don't own this series or any other series. I am just floating an idea. I am making no money, nor plan to, off this venture. If you think of suing me over this, then grow up. This one was inspired by Brian Drozd's **The Past Catching Up**

I would like to first personally thank all of those reviewing my stories. I enjoy reading your comments, and try to correct the grammatical errors I miss with my final read-through as well as my spell checkers. The suggestions you all make will help make this story better for everyone to enjoy, as well as allow my to fix some plot holes I may unintentionally leave.

If you like, please review, as well as let me know of any spelling errors. I will then re-upload this chapter when I do my next upload.

If you like, check out my other stories.

I also plan to start sending these out to have someone else proofread them before I post them. Volunteers are welcome.

Now, on with the show.

* * *

_I remember how this all started. I was spending some time with an aunt outside of Nerima. While providing for my family through my usual means, I made some enemies I shouldn't have. Nothing serious like Yakuza or such. But they were tough enough for my father to worry._

_There was one immediate benefit. You see, my father hasn't taught since my mother…passed away. As such, it was up to me—by default, mind you—to keep us afloat with what money her health insurance left us. I had hidden the policy from Father to make sure in his grief and Mother's sickness that he didn't do something stupid; mother's idea actually._

_It was a good thing I did. When she had to be hospitalized near the end, he went looking for it. It didn't take a genius to see it was for drinking money. Would have ended up as such had Mother not had the foresight._

_Anyway, I did what I could to make myself a middleman, make certain anyone who needed anything had to go through me, an impressive feet for a seven-year-old._

_But with me having to temporarily move away while they chased down a father of a student who didn't like the fact I had exposed his son's dishonorable behavior—he had fathered a child and then tried to make it look like he never knew the girl—he was forced to grow up and return to providing for the dojo. _

_The father made several death threats if I didn't say I was lying about his son; all of which I got on tape and gave to the police, as well as the poor girl's family. The judge issued a warrant for the father and ordered the son to give an immediate DNA sample. The test confirmed him as the father and the old man was caught and sentences a few months later._

_Oddly enough, he was caught by the man who saved me, the man I fell in love with._

_You see, the old man traced me to my new residence. The man chased me into an alley and knocked me to the ground with a quick and vicious punch. He said since I wanted to be a "lying little bitch", then he would treat me as such. The sick bastard didn't want to accept reality. He reminded me of Kuno-baby that way._

_But I was saved by Ranma, who returned my pain a hundred fold onto the jackass. We handed him over to the cops, and Ranma received a huge reward, which he spent taking me out on dates._

_He seemed shocked at how I acted on dates, and even when I pointed out flaws in his father's teachings. I think Ranma enjoyed the fact that I challenged him in some sort of warped Martial Arts Mental Games, or at least that was what I called it to keep his attention. _

_Sometimes you just have to know the right way to get through to a person._

_Anyway, my little Prince Charming got to me, and I'm not talking about the fact he saved me, or the fact he looked so damn hunky. But the fact he doted over me, never once asking for anything. He was the first person I had met there with no preconceptions of me. Of course, considering he never carried that part of the human brain that filtered out things you probably shouldn't say to someone, or the fact he couldn't lie to save his life, didn't hurt him either. He was a guy you always knew where you stood with, and he got so flustered when I showed him any affection in public._

_Private was another matter._

_The damn guy made me feel like I was the center of all of creation, almost like a goddess. Sure, he had one friend, some Lost Boy named Ryoga, but he acted differently around me. If I had a problem with how he acted, I was smart enough to get him to see my way of thinking._

_But he wasn't without his demons. True, none of us are without those, but his had demons of their own._

_The Nekoken: the proof in my opinion Genma Saotome should have his balls removed with a dull, rusty spoon to prevent further reproduction and his eyes gouged out so as to keep him from moving about to injure someone._

_Anyway, I had known him for little over two weeks, when he came bounding over my aunt's backyard wall. I had been outback, trying to get some sun. I was shocked when he started meowing, acting like a complete cat. I figured it was some joke, and played around with him like a real cat. I'm still to this day unsure of how he was able to purr like that._

_But then he knocked me into my lounge chair and jumped on my lap, surprisingly light for what I expected him to weigh. But that was when I saw it: his eyes didn't show the Ranma I had grown to know. They were clear, filled with something I couldn't understand. And then he kissed me._

_I wish it could be called a hot-n-heavy make-out session, but it wasn't. He kissed me for a few moments, licked my nose, nibbled on the side of my neck, and soon fell asleep on my lap._

_I sat there petting him, listening to him purr. I had never thought Ranma would make the first move like that. I should have been upset, or even slightly annoyed. I was always in control._

_But not with him, with him, I never knew what would come next._

_I guess that is what I loved so much about him._

_He woke up about fifteen minutes later, no idea where he was. He tried to squirm out of explaining what had just happened, but I told him if he was a coward, he could run away from this._

_Heh, do I know how to manipulate him or what._

_So then Ranma explained the Nekoken, and how when it was triggered, he would seek out the person he felt most comfortable with. From what I could patiently gather—after all, I'm not like Akane and belt him after I get a partial clue—I figured some more of it out. He seemed surprised when I told him his Neko-self was basically him without any ego. The cat reacted to anything with the true feelings of Ranma. That was why it never liked his father, the truth was Ranma didn't trust Genma and knew Genma would always betray it._

_Then it hit me how Ranma's neko actions would be perceived._

_He…loved me._

_That was the only thing that made sense. He had feelings for me because of the kissing, the licking of my nose for affection. The bites…they meant something larger entirely._

_He could never say it. He just wasn't the comfortable yet expressing himself, but I knew it. The cat had proven it. _

_So I did what I thought was best. I sat on his lap, wrapped my arms around him, and gave him a first kiss he could remember. When he asked why, I told him just because he could only show his true self as the cat, didn't mean I didn't think that his normal self didn't deserve the memories as well._

_Things changed for us after that. He was still somewhat nervous about public displays of affection, but he didn't mind the hugs or the hand-holding. A few of my classmates that saw us jokes I was robbing the cradle._

_Ranma, in his usual naivety, said that I never stole anything._

_Hey, I thought it was cute!_

_So we progressed. I even met Ryoga, but I didn't like him too much. I mean what kind of idiot starts a fight over bread? I mean, the kid wasn't hurting for meals. And Ranma was sparring with the kid, trying to be his friend, even leading him to and from school._

_But I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt._

_But then a big day came. Ranma told me his father was planning on leaving at the end of the week for China, and was taking him along. I asked Ranma if he trusted his father enough to do this. Let's face it; his father was a few slices shy of a full loaf when it came to intelligence. Hell, the bread bag was empty. None of Genma's ideas were nothing but forcing Ranma to do things the man had never proven he could. Did Genma run with Ranma behind the train? Did Genma learn the Nekoken? Did Genma ever stay behind and work in the restaurant? _

_No, he did shit to Ranma, claiming it was for the Art and if he didn't do it, he was a weak girl. Now while I may have broken Ranma of seeing that thing as an insult—to which required him to see a video of girls giving birth—he had to admit he didn't know what else to do. Apparently he had gone on this journey after his mom died, and his father kept harping about how important it was to finish it, to make his mom proud of him._

_  
What could I tell him? Should I have said don't go and stay with me?_

_I wanted to, Kami-sama how I wanted to. _

_But he felt he needed to do this for his mother. I could understand that. Mom had asked me and Kasumi to look after our family until they didn't need us. The problem was dad had always acted like he was dead too. But that was a benefit of this, besides meeting Ranma._

_So two days before his final match with Ryoga, we…did it._

_I know what you're thinking: it was one of those we'll never see each other again so we may as well have one last hoorah!_

_Nope, before I even made the first move—did you really think he would—he told me that when he returned, he would find my old home and come for me. He finally admitted that he loved me, and said he could be happy spending the rest of his life with me._

_He can't lie. He meant every word of it. It was in his eyes._

_So after that day, I waited with him at the field, brought him some food his worthless father tried to steal. I told him he could have some if he was so weak that he couldn't find or make some on his own._

_Like father, like son: attack the ego and you have them eating out of the palm of your hand._

_On the fourth day, I arrived to find Ranma gone. Nothing compares to how truly scared I was that day, not even when that bastard attacked me. I didn't need to be an expert to tell what happened. The blood and the drag marks told me everything I needed to know._

_Genma had attacked his son and dragged him off._

_We had at least had a few more days, a few more moments together._

_Then Ryoga finally showed up, spouting about how Ranma was a coward._

_I couldn't take it anymore, my anger for Genma needed to be vented, and a stupid boy was the best target._

_I slapped him in the face as hard as I could. I yelled at him how he was at fault for not being here on time, how he was to blame for his own failings. Ranma had waited three days, and that was two days, twenty-three hours, and fifty-nine minutes more than I would have waited for him. He tried to blame his curse, and I shot it down by informing him that I had witnessed Ranma offering to escort him here. I stormed off towards home, but said one thing before I left._

"I don't know why Ranma thought of you as a friend. Your attitude makes you almost as self-conceited as his father. You want to know the real reason why you're all alone. It isn't your damn curse; it's your damn attitude! Who wants to hang around someone who blames everyone else for their own shortcomings?"

_So I returned home as the school year ended. Without the jackass threatening me, I had no reason to stay._

_And then a few weeks later, my period never arrived._

_My father was furious, bemoaning how stupid I was. Kasumi tried to calm him down, but he was off on a tirade. _

_But I just sat there, occasionally listening as he went off on some spew about honor and how I would be impure when a future husband might be looking for me._

_When he had tired himself out, I finally decided to speak?_

"Are you done yet, or would you like to yell at me for a few more hours before I get to speak?"

_He nearly went off again before I started speaking._

"I was with someone I loved, who loved me beyond words. He protected me when the best my father could do was send me off someplace and hope for the best. He showed me more attention in three months than you did in the last three years. He promised me when he came back from his training journey to make his mother proud of him in the afterlife, that he would find me. He was honest with me, Father; which is more than you ever were these last few years. If he had the ability to ask me to marry him, I would have done it that moment. Trust me, Father, if Ranma Saotome asked me to leave with him right now, I would do so. At least he's smart enough to hear my side before judging me. I just wish you were. But I guess I expected too much from the man who **should** have helped raise me after mom passed."

_I turned around and headed upstairs to cry._

_It was later Kasumi came into the room. She told me that I had missed father's sudden shock and change in attitude. But it hadn't come after my last statement. It had come when I mentioned the man's name—and make no mistake, in my eyes Ranma was a man—that father seemed to lose all anger. All Kasumi would say was that he kept muttering something about the schools finally being joined._

_Kasumi had to stop me from banging my head into the desk. I should have seen it before when he told me the name of his school, but I was still high on endorphins from the attack._

_Of course our fathers had to know each other. What are the odds that two people in charge of Anything Goes didn't know each other?_

_And if Daddy's statement could be taken at face value, then he had probably engaged one of us to him._

_Well, looks like I won the prize by default, and I didn't even know I was playing the game._

_So I returned to Furinkan with Akane. With Father now working the Dojo, harder than before Mom passed on, we weren't hurting for money. In fact, some kids signed up to try and ask Akane out. Somebody named Gos seemed to be the most persistent. Tatewaki even tried to sign up, and then make some stupid proclamation that anyone who defeated Akane in class would get to date her._

_Both my younger sister and Father put a stop to that, informing him in no uncertain terms—at least for the rest of us sane people—that he had no standing to make such a contest and that if he ever did it again, they would make certain his family would force him to commit seppuku to reclaim lost honor._

_Now I know what you're thinking: Akane using rational thought? With things back and running, my sister had to grow up when I left. She had to put away that childish temper of hers, and act responsible, especially since I wasn't around to bail her out. Three months of detention didn't hurt either._

_But before my pregnancy got too far along, I had one thing left to do: I had to find where Ranma's mother was buried. I still had some contacts left from when I was still the Ice Queen, so I used them, hoping to find a grave to visit my child's grandmother._

_Imagine my shock when I found her still alive._

_I went to her place; oddly enough not that far from our district in Nerima, and met her._

_She was so glad to have fresh news of her son, and loved the few pictures I had of him. She hung on every word, every story I told her. I swear she was actually glowing when I told her of the Nekoken, Ranma's attitude towards women when I initially met him, the way he was forced to go, and even his father's treatment of him._

_I wasn't too shocked to hear she planned to seek divorce the next morning._

_Of course, her attitude changed when she learned I was pregnant. I had never seen anyone so happy, let alone pull several victory fans out of the air and do "The Grandchildren Dance"._

_The woman all but moved into our home, spending time with me, helping me with some light exercises to keep myself from gaining too much pregnancy weight. It was a joy to have her around. Hell, I think her being there was one of the reasons Kasumi finally went to that medical school. She still lived at home and commuted, but still, she was finally trying to live a life of her own. All though, business at the Tofu clinic where she was interning was down for the first month, with the doctor dancing off every time he entered the waiting room, but "Mother" Masaki—she returned to her maiden name—helped break him of that habit._

_Then little Kimiko was born. I think that was the only time I have ever had anger towards Ranma, true anger. Pushing a human out a hole not usually that size can make a person say a lot of things in the heat of the moment._

_So that takes us to today. I am helping little Kimiko work on her words. The girl has my brains, but Ranma's ability to grow quickly from whatever she's exposed to._

_But even she senses my fear. You see, a few months ago, I had a dream of Ranma and his father arriving at some place with hundreds of little pools with bamboo poles sticking out of them. I saw his father leapt onto them, saying something, probably trying to goad Ranma into joining him._

_I was proud to see Ranma refuse, looking like he was yelling at his father. He turned around to leave._

_But Genma would not be denied, and attacked Ranma, tossing him into the grounds. I watched as Ranma tried to get away from the grounds, tried to get away from whatever stupidity his father was trying now. He had succeeded somewhat by knocking his father into one of the pools, only to make it barely five meters before I giant panda hopped out and began attacking him again._

_Then Ranma was knocked into one of the pools._

_I screamed as loud as I could in the dream, flying over to where Ranma had disappeared._

_I witnessed a red-headed girl emerge. I would have thought someone had snuck in when I wasn't looking, had they not been wearing Ranma's gi or had their hair in a pigtail, tied by a piece of lace I had given him to remember me by. I then saw Ranma scream, and woke up myself. Kimiko was crying, saying how Mommy was sad, Mommy was scared. She slept in my bed for the next few nights._

_I got to go, though. Daddy says he has something important to tell me, and even Ms. Masaki seems excited. It has been two years._

"Mommy?"

_Even little Kimiko can sense something is up. I just smile. My prince is coming home._

Who knows, maybe we can even get married.

_But I won't stretch my hopes too far. I just want him back with me. After that nightmare, I just want him to be safe, and remember me._

_Kami-sama, I just want him to still love me!_

_

* * *

_

If I messed anything up, then let me know including typos.

Any suggestions on how I should continue the story or improve it would also be accepted.

So, shoul I make this a one-shot or new story?


	2. Unification

**Ranma ½**

**Chapter 2**

**Unification**

Disclaimer: I don't own this series or any other series. I am just floating an idea. I am making no money, nor plan to, off this venture. If you think of suing me over this, then grow up. This one was inspired by Brian Drozd's **The Past Catching Up**

I would like to first personally thank all of those reviewing my stories. I enjoy reading your comments, and try to correct the grammatical errors I miss with my final read-through as well as my spell checkers. The suggestions you all make will help make this story better for everyone to enjoy, as well as allow my to fix some plot holes I may unintentionally leave.

If you like, please review, as well as let me know of any spelling errors. I will then re-upload this chapter when I do my next upload.

If you like, check out my other stories.

I also plan to start sending these out to have someone else proofread them before I post them. Volunteers are welcome.

Now, on with the show.

* * *

_**I can honestly say that the recent events in and on my life have made me tired, more so than ever before.**_

_**How should I begin?**_

_**Well, when I last left off, my Father and Mother Masaki had something important to tell me.**_

_**I couldn't believe how happy I was: my prince was coming home.**_

_**But even before he stepped through the door, I just new Genma Saotome had messed it up. Besides what the nightmare had told me, I had to count on what was obviously the results of their training together—my father and his father—that they would automatically assume stupid little things.**_

_**Like, for instance, I assumed Ranma would be attacked by Genma because the fat bastard would fail to tell his son just who he was going to see.**_

_**Also, if they were cursed—I did a little research on Jusenkyo, the only training grounds in China that resembled my dream—he would also neglect the fact that a better impression might be had by all should Ranma arrive as male!**_

**_But I digress. I could stand here all day and say stuff degrading Genma Saotome. But what would be the point. We already know he's scum. Hell, even I figured out he wants to control Ranma. Who knows what trouble he would be in without my help those years ago?_**

_**I mean, I hope I had that much of an impact on him.**_

_**I must have if the dream was true. I mean, the old Ranma before I worked with him would have jumped up onto those bamboo poles, no questions asked. In my dream, he ignored his father, and was literally thrown into danger.**_

_**I don't care if he turns into that redheaded girl I saw in my dream. I mean, at least the curse is human. And okay, maybe the rumors about me being a lesbian weren't true. But for him, and only for him, I would make that leap. I never want him to feel ashamed of who he is.**_

**_Only when he has done something that seriously…displeases me._**

**_But I was afraid while I waited downstairs for their arrival. While Father and Mother Masaki filled me in on the arrival of the postcard, and Mother Masaki used a cutesy voice to tell little Kimiko her father was coming home, it did little to lower my tension. I had read enough literature about the area around Jusenkyo to be concerned. _**

_**You see, there were three groups living there, a shock at how autonomous they were from the Chinese Government. **_

**_One—the Musk—might lock my love in his female form and try and make a wife of him. So that gave me the fear that the man I loved would never be a man again._**

_**But he was returning, and I doubt even Genma would return with Ranma locked in a female form.**_

_**I hope.**_

_**The second—the Phoenix—don't bother me too much. While Genma might go there to learn some techniques, I doubt Ranma would follow after Jusenkyo.**_

_**Finally, the Amazons. Now they I worry about. I know they were the ones most often involved in any clashes with the country's regime, and often won hands down. So, it is most likely they would head there for either training or a possible cure.**_

_**Why was I worried? They look for strong males to chain to their village to improve their gene pool.**_

_**Hell, Genma should be enough reason to consider dumping him in the river.**_

_**But Ranma… My Ranma might make them consider…**_

_**Would he do that to me? No. I never thought that for a minute. Ranma, in all his true form, would never disregard me. I know him better than any of his parents, better than even he knows himself.**_

_**But I am not stupid. I know that if the dream was real, if magic exists, then Ranma may not have a choice in the matter.**_

_**If he was forced, I would forgive any transgression he made.**_

_**If not…**_

_**No Kami would ever be able to protect him.**_

_**So I sat there, little Kimiko on my lap, playing with a stuffed animal I got her, waiting for them to come.**_

_**And like I expected, Genma ruined their first impression.**_

* * *

Nabiki sat at the table, once again fidgeting with her formal kimono, smoothing out a wrinkle that no longer existed, or trying to loosen or tighten a tie that did not need it.

Kimiko merely sat beside her mother in her own formal kimono, playing with a toy squeaky hammer that Auntie Akane had gotten her.

"Calm down, dear," said the soothing voice of Nodoka Masaki. "Ranma will be here soon, and being a nervous wreck won't help things."

"Ranma?" asked Kimiko.

"Ranma's your daddy, Kimiko," said Akane. "And show grandpa how I showed you to greet your daddy."

_**I must say that got my attention. Knowing my sister, and her current feelings about men in general, I wanted to see this myself.**_

Kimiko walked over to her grandfather, still clutching her little toy mallet.

Which she then used to bop him on the forehead. "Baka!"

**_It was a struggle not to face-fault, laugh, and scold my sister, all at the same time._** "Akane, why is my daughter going to do that to her father?"

"Um...hee-hee...because he deserves it?"

"No, little sister, he does not.

"Kimiko, that is how you greet your other grandpa, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy!"

_**It did work, though. The tension I had been feeling was gone...for the moment. **_

_**But still, I have so many fears to face.**_

**_It's all the fault of that damned dream I had those months ago. My daughter shouldn't have ever had to see me like that. The fear... The terror... They only got worse as I read more about the area around Jusenkyo. The Musk, the Amazons, the Phoenix... I had more reasons to be afraid in those months than I ever had as a little girl._**

_**Kimiko should have never had to fear like that, never seen the sheer terror on my face.**_

_**I'll be certain to thank Genma for that as well.**_

**_We sat for but a few moments more until the closing sound of the gate was heard. As Dad took off to greet his new son-in-law, Nodoka stood up, making a shushing sound, and slid against the wall. I could guess what she was planning, and pulled Kimiko near me, making certain she wouldn't see what might occur._**

_**I had to smile at that. Now granted, I am no slouch at Martial Arts. I took it back up to ensure my daughter's safety. Well, actually I took it up to spend more time with Ranma when we started getting closer, but I have improved since then. Now, I know I lack my sister's sheer strength, I lack Kasumi's sheer grace, but the point is: I try.**_

_**I know I will never be at Ranma's level. I know I will never be the best.**_

_**But as long as I can protect those who I love...that's all that matters to me.**_

_**So...I'll let my mother-in-law deal with the baka panda first. I may not be the best, but I'm certain that she will save me a pound or two of his flesh to beat.**_

_**After all, a girl's got to work out her frustrations as well.**_

**_Now, you should know I told Mother Masaki about my dream. She wanted to know why I was so upset for that week. Hell, she even showed me the contract Genma left behind when he left. _**

_**I was thankful she never planned to hold Ranma to it, and if she did, he had proved it by gaining my love.**_

_**In reality, I think it was our child that did it.**_

_**I had to laugh, not even more than a year old, and little Kimiko defeated the only thing that could kill her father.**_

_**Soon, the doorbell sounded, and my Father ran to answer it with my sister, Kasumi. As expected, Genma messed up what could have been a critical meeting had I not met Ranma before.**_

_**Anyway, we met a large and obese panda carrying a young redheaded female, which he slung to the floor.**_

_**Even I could tell the kind of blow needed to knock out Ranma.**_

_**Luckily, the panda never saw Nodoka.**_

"Hello, husband dear. It seems you've forgotten where I lived."

"Momma, teddy make pee-pee!"

_**Well, my daughter is smart, even if Genma isn't.**_

_**With the help of the others, I had my father hold little Kimiko while we braced Ranma against a wall. I'd have been lying had I said I didn't expect this. I told you, with Ranma, I learned to expect the unexpected.**_

_**It was my love, my curse.**_

_**As the panda pleaded with his wife to spare his life, I poured some hot water over Ranma, reverting him to his male form.**_

_**It had been two years, and the sight of how he had grown nearly took my breath away.**_

_**He slowly opened his eyes, their focus coming slowly, indicating that Genma had used way too much force to knock Ranma out. Eventually, they came to settle on my worried visage.**_

"An...angel."

_**Words never did flow well from him.**_

"I guess Pops finally killed me, and I got to see my angel again."

Smiling, Nabiki just responded, trying to hold back her tears. "You're not dead, Ranma. You really are with me."

His hand came up to her face, cupping her cheek. That was all it took for her tears to flow, causing Ranma to slowly shift his arm and pull her into a hug. "I told ya I would come back."

**_We sat there for a few moments, enjoying the embrace, when I felt a small tugging on my kimono arm. Looking down, as I am certain Ranma was as well, I spotted my daughter, nervous, unsure as to what to do now, since her grandma was currently tying up the panda and proceeding to deliver something I doubt PETA would consider...appropriate._**

**_As Ranma looked at the little girl, I could see his brow rise slightly. As his eyes grew large, they changed slightly panicky and turned towards me._**

**_The baka, he was worried I was upset. I just kissed him quickly, before leaning into him to whisper into his ear. _**"She is your daughter from our one time. I don't blame you. She...she just wants to meet her daddy. Please, don't hate us for this."

_**Ranma nodded; a small look of relief on his face.**_

_**I guess he was afraid I would hate him for not being there, for leaving me with child.**_

_**I could blame him, could find fault.**_

_**But that isn't me. That isn't what my heart says. It says he would have stayed had he known. It says he will still love us. It says he will never reject our child...never reject me either.**_

**_He helped her up a little to sit on his lap; she was still looking at him, confused. I guess she didn't understand the curse that well. _**

_**I just hope she didn't start calling him the name she made up.**_

"Daddy-momma?"

_**Too late.**_

**_I can hear Akane snickering in the background, but pay it no heed. I can see Ranma looking at my in confusion again._** "I had a dream about Jusenkyo. I tried to explain it to her, in case it was true. I guess she just...decided to call you that."

**_His smile grew slightly, before looking at her._** "Yeah, I guess I am your Daddy."

"DADDY-MOMMA!" **_Our little girl didn't get the hint that he just wanted to be called "Daddy", but when she started hugging him, I think he didn't care for the moment, either._**

_**He pulled me into the hug as well...our first family hug. It felt warm...it felt...right.**_

_**I know what you're thinking. "How can I just fall like this? How can he be so accepting of this?"**_

_**Well, I did get Ranma over his "girls are weak" phase by showing him that labor video. He knew what could happen. It was me who didn't care.**_

_**Call it a mistake in the heat of the moment.**_

_**But no one could ever look at Kimiko and think that.**_

**_So we all sat there, enjoying the togetherness...enjoying the fact that we really were a family now. _**

_**But all good things...**_

"It appears that someone else has already begun to punish the worthless panda for leaving us behind."

"Shampoo say is lucky we no catch first. Must thank helpful warrior later."

_**My sight shifted to the two new arrivals. The fact they had hopped over the wall—a feat I have yet to master without occasionally tripping over said wall—told me they were skilled. The fact that one looked like a lawn gnome and the other looked like she could go toe-to-toe with my love's female form in a beauty contest, told me I had better tread carefully.**_

**_Why you ask? Simple. They have power; they obviously have skill, and knowing Genma, are pissed for a very good reason._**

**_I stood up to observe these two. Ranma stood beside me, placing his arm on my shoulder, and briefly shaking the pain from his head the near concussion had given him. _**"Nabiki, these are Elder Cologne, and her great granddaughter, Shampoo, of the Chinese Amazons. They escorted me and Pops back."

_**What was I supposed to say? Here before me were two of the very same people I feared would find Ranma, and decide to keep him for themselves. These were members of a group that even the Chinese Government never messed with.**_

_**HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO REACT?**_

**_So, I let my training take over. Before me were two very dangerous women, despite appearances. Beside me were my freshly returned love and my little girl. I shifted my stance so Kimiko was behind both me and Ranma, staring at the girls who could very well kill me before I could blink._**

**_I watched as the older Amazon woman looked at me for a moment, knowing she was judging me. She smiled, as though to try and calm me down._**

**_Did I mention I am FAR from calm?_**

"Do not worry about us, child. Enjoy your reunion with your beloved. Our business can be discussed later. For now, enjoy this time. Come, Shampoo."

_**I watched as the two Amazons left the Dojo, the feeling of uneasiness and trepidation never dropping one iota. **_

_**I knew Genma had done something...it was in the younger girl's eyes. It was a feeling of sadness, or stepping upon things you didn't want to.**_

_**She hated herself for a moment, letting me see it, whether she meant to or not.**_

_**What could it be that the dreams never showed me? What had Genma done?**_

_**I know it was him. There was no way it could have been Ranma's fault. Almost every single thing wrong in Ranma's life could be traced to that fat man now being led outside for another ex-husband/ex-wife chat.**_

_**My thoughts were cut short as Ranma tightened his hug on me, causing Kimiko to giggle between us.**_

**_It would have to wait. Ranma needed to sign the papers so Father could get them downtown for his meeting tonight with the District Council._**

_**I just hope Kimiko could forgive me tonight for placing her with her grandmother tonight.**_

**_It has been over two years, and I want to be with him tonight._**

_**But my question is answered.**_

_**Yes, he still loves me.**_

* * *

Shampoo and Cologne made their way from the Tendo Dojo, silently making their way through the quiet streets.

"Your thoughts, young one?"

Shampoo stopped, turning back towards the dojo. "Shampoo think idea is no fair. Ranma and girl love each other, make Shampoo feel icky for doing this. No is right."

Cologne sighed. "I agree, child. But, I did what I could for him in the village. If his father had fought, we could easily have gotten the challenge dropped for the sheer worthlessness of that male.

"But with Ranma thrown as he was into the fight... Bead and Pollen are much too conniving for their own good; even as Elders go. Their lust for power will cause our tribe's downfall."

She hopped away. "Let them have this time to enjoy their reunion. We shall deliver the father's folly later. First, we must set ourselves up in this town. If our plan is to work, we will need a staging ground."

Shampoo took one more sad look at the dojo. _It is not right to have to interfere in such love. I am sorry...Airen._


End file.
